View full sizeJim Urquhart l Associated PressUtah Jazz Jerry Sloan announces his resignation Thursday in Salt Lake City. Sloan had coached the Jazz for 23 seasons, but his battles with guard Deron Williams this season seem to have worn him down.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Jerry Sloan resigning as coach of the Utah Jazz is the latest example of the reactions around the NBA to what happened when LeBron James and Chris Bosh bolted to Miami.

Teams with stars heading to free agency are terrified that they will become the Cavs or Toronto of this season -- two teams lamely limping along to the end of the season with the only hope being collecting pingpong balls for the lottery.

In Utah, Sloan argued with star point guard Deron Williams, who will be a free agent in 2012. The speculation is that he'll bolt Salt Lake City for a team in a larger market.

After 23 seasons coaching the Jazz, Sloan resigned Thursday. He seemed emotionally drained, physically tired. But he also had been battling with Williams. The Jazz were 31-23 when Sloan resigned. But they were struggling after a 15-5 start as verbal duels between Williams and Sloan increased.

Sloan knows how important Williams is to the Jazz. He doesn't want to hurt their chances of keeping him. The coach told Gordon Monson of the Salt Lake Tribune: "It was time for me to get out. I didn't want to be a hindrance to the team or anyone."

This is not to say everything about Sloan was perfect, or that Williams is a team-wrecker. Sloan can be stubborn and likes verbal confrontations. Williams generally has a good reputation among other players and coaches.

But Sloan decided it was best to leave now, not even waiting until the end of the season. He also made this retirement decision only three days after he had agreed to a contract to coach next season. At 68, he's had enough.

But the real story is free-agent fever.

Williams is not a free agent until the summer of 2012. Nor is Orlando's Dwight Howard. But there is constant speculation both will leave. Same with Chris Paul in New Orleans.

The countdown now starts two years before they can leave.

In fact, Howard is under contract until 2013, but he can opt out in 2012. He is sick of the speculation, telling reporters: "I can't sign a contract this year. I can't sign anywhere this summer, so why keep bringing it up? Why are people talking about me going any other place right now? Right now is about this season. It's not about L.A., New York or whatever. I'm really tired of it. I don't wanna be talking about where I'm gonna be playing basketball next or people in Orlando asking me 'Are you going to leave us?' "

But the new mind-set among many players, their agents and friends is that you need to go somewhere else to win, forgetting how hard it is to do so. The media and fans spend much of the season wondering who will come or go.

During a recent Knicks game, the New York crowd was chanting for Carmelo Anthony -- wanting the Knicks to trade for the Denver star who will be a free agent this summer. Denver has been trying to make a deal for him for six months. His wish to play in New York has led to stalemate as the Knicks are offering little in return.

Orlando made a very risky trade for Gilbert Arenas and others, chewing up cap space for years to come in an effort to win now and keep Howard. It's the same kind of short-sighted deals made by the Cavs to appease James.

"I never said anything about me not being happy or 'pulling a LeBron' like people said," Howard told reporters.

But after years where most free agents re-signed with the current teams because the labor agreement meant they'd receive the most money -- James and Bosh changed the game with their moves.

Rather than be stuck with nothing, Toronto and the Cavs made "sign-and-trade deals" allowing Bosh and James to be paid close to what they would have made had they not switched teams. In exchange, the Cavs and Raptors received future draft picks.

Free-agency fever is not making the NBA a better place for the fans or the teams. It's why Commissioner David Stern must find a way to add a "franchise player" tag to the new labor agreement, allowing teams to hang on to players a little longer -- or forcing players to take shorter contracts and more risk.

Because right now, there is a feeling among many fans that the league is rigged, the players will conspire to play in the larger markets with little regard for their current teams. Certainly, that's not true of every free agent, but it's a perception that the league must find a way to address.

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